Parliament summons Finance Minister on power agreement

Parliament on Friday summoned the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Tekper, to clarify the terms of the agreement between the Electricity Company of Ghana and Karpowership Company (Ghana) Ltd for the supply of 450 megawatts of power.

The summons is as a result of a call by the Member of Parliament of Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, asking the House to investigate the power purchase agreement because it lacked Constitutional backing.

Mr Afenyo-Markin contended that the $100 million Government guarantee for the ECGfs 50 million dollars counterpart funding of the agreement needed parliamentary scrutiny and approval in accordance with Article 181 (5) and (6) of the 1992 Constitution.

He said the whole agreement should be considered illegitimate because Government gave the guarantee without approval by Parliament.

A guarantee for the Power Purchase Agreement has been provided by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)

Article 181(5) of the Constitution states that:”This article shall, with the necessary modifications by Parliament, apply to an international business or economic transaction to which the government is a party as it applies to a loan.”

Article 181 (6) states: “For the purpose of this article ‘loan’ includes any moneys lent or given to or by the government on condition of return or repayment, and any other form of borrowing or lending in respect of which (a) moneys from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund may be used for payment or repayment and (b) moneys from any fund by whatever name called, established for the purposes of payment or repayment whether directly or indirectly, may be used for payment or repayment.

The First Deputy Speaker, Ebo Barton-Odro, who presided over proceedings at the time, directed that the Minister of Finance be invited to brief the House on the contents of the agreement and make copies available to the House for perusal.

He directed the Business Committee of the House to fix a date and invite the Minister to brief the House on the agreement.